Lesson 23 – Rumor Has It

Learning ObjectivesAfter this lesson, students will be able to:

Lesson Objectives 2

1. Define what the expression “rumor has it” means.2. Share rumors about certain personalities in the society.3. Determine the reasons why rumors are made and spread.4. Supply word forms of some vocabulary related to rumors.5. Distinguish direct question from indirect question.6. Use indirect question to seek for information.7. Recognize the L-blend sound in words

Lesson 23. Rumor Has It

Warm Up 3

“Rumor has it that” is used when you’re telling someone what people say or what a story says about something or someone. Share rumors you recently heard about the following:

A country leader

A Hollywood celebrity

The Music industry

Science & Technology

A famous local guy

A famous local girl

“Did you hear?”“You will never guess what I just heard.”“Have you heard that…”“Have I got some juicy gossip for you!”"Guess what.""I haven't told you about this yet.”“So, I was talking with someone“"Have you heard from ___ lately?"

Other expressions:

Lesson 23. Rumor Has It

Introduction 4

A Psychology of Rumor

"A Psychology of Rumor" was published by Robert H. Knapp He defines rumor as aproposition for belief of topical reference disseminated without official verification.Knapp identified three basic characteristics that apply to rumor:1. they're transmitted by word of mouth;2. they provide "information" about a "person, happening, or condition"; and3. they express and gratify "the emotional needs of the community."

Source: The Process and Reasoning: A Psychology of Rumor By... | 123 Help Me

Lesson 23. Rumor Has It

How would the world be changed

without the culture of spreading

rumors?

Keen Observation 5

Why People Gossip?

Enumerate the possible reasons why people gossip. Then compare your inference with the information from the video.

(55) Why Do People Gossip About You - YouTube

Reason 1

Reason 2

Reason 3

Reason 4

Reason 5

Reason 6

Reason 7

Reason 8

Why gossip?

Lesson 23. Rumor Has It

Vocabulary Preview 6

Match and determine at least one of each word’s word form. Use each in your own sentence.

1. relating to or denoting the process by which different kinds of living organisms are believed to havedeveloped from earlier forms.

2. a formal charge or accusation of a serious crime.3. the quality or state of being capable of being confirmed or substantiated.4. the evaluation or estimation of the nature, quality, or ability of someone or something.5. intending or intended to do harm.6. is a complex human society, usually made up of different cities, with certain characteristics of cultural

and technological development7. period is the time needed for any particular process of development to take place.8. the beliefs or opinions that are generally held about someone or something.9. secretly listening to a conversation.10.information received from other people that one cannot adequately substantiate11. the act of expressing disapproval and of noting the problems or faults of a person or thing12.exclude (someone) from a society or group.13.relating to or characterized by deep thought; thoughtful.14.spreading widely throughout an area or a group of people.15.cause (someone) to feel isolated or estranged.

A.IndictmentB. CriticismC. PervasiveD.VerifiabilityE. MaliciousF. ReputationG.OstracizeH.AssessmentI. EvolutionaryJ. IncubationK. CivilizationL. EavesdroppingM.HearsayN.AlienateO.Reflective

See more about word forms here:Word forms: verbs, nouns, adjectives, adverbs |Learn English Today (learn-english-today.com)

Lesson 23. Rumor Has It

Reading Exercise 7

Read the rest of the article by clicking the source below.

Source: Gossiping Is Good - The Atlantic

WORD ON THE STREET is that gossip is the worst. An Ann Landers advice column once characterized it as “thefaceless demon that breaks hearts and ruins careers.” The Talmud describes it as a “three-pronged tongue” that killsthree people: the teller, the listener, and the person being gossiped about. And Blaise Pascal observed, not unreasonably,that “if people really knew what others said about them, there would not be four friends left in the world.” Convincing asthese indictments seem, however, a significant body of research suggests that gossip may in fact be healthy.

Despite gossip’s dodgy reputation, a surprisingly small share of it—as little as 3 to 4 percent—is actuallymalicious. And even that portion can bring people together. Researchers at the University of Texas and the University ofOklahoma found that if two people share negative feelings about a third person, they are likely to feel closer to eachother than they would if they both felt positively about him or her.

Gossip may even make us better people. A team of Dutch researchers reported that hearing gossip aboutothers made research subjects more reflective; positive gossip inspired self-improvement efforts, and negative gossipmade people prouder of themselves. In another study, the worse participants felt upon hearing a piece of negativegossip, the more likely they were to say they had learned a lesson from it. Negative gossip can also have a pro socialeffect on those who are gossiped about. Researchers at Stanford and UC Berkeley found that once people wereostracized from a group due to reputed selfishness, they reformed their ways in an attempt to regain the approval of thepeople they had alienated.

Lesson 23. Rumor Has It

Reading Comprehension 8

Answer the following questions:1. What do the following say about gossips?

• Ann Landers• The Talmud• Blaise Pascal

2. What have the researchers at the University of Texas and University of Oklahoma found out aboutgossip?

3. How did the research subjects of a team of Dutch researchers react to hearing gossips about others?4. What did the researched at Stanford and UC Berkeley find about people who were being ostracized?5. Robin Dunbar’s assessment was referred as the one with the most positive of gossip, what does his

report say?6. What is an idle chatter and what does Dunbar argue about them?7. What things are you probably promoting when you dish the dirt?

Free Response 1. Tell about someone from school or work who has been alienated?2. Do you know anyone who seem to live to gossip?3. Can rumors be considered a source of information?

Lesson 23. Rumor Has It

Listening Exercise

Listening 23.2 Talking about Rumors

1. No one really knows the truth about the situation withJohn.

2. Kiera doesn’t immediately share everything she knowsabout John.

3. Susanne wasn’t the original creator of the cars idea.4. Susanne reported John to people higher up in the

company.5. Kiera disagrees with what Will has said about John’s

aggressive behaviour.6. Kiera saw John stealing ideas from other people.7. Kiera made an official complaint about John’s behaviour.8. There was a culture of silence that meant John was not

investigated earlier.

Modify the false statements to make them true.

to keep your mouth shut

to be in someone’s good books

to come to light

to take credit for

to be out

high up

How are the following expressions used in the dialogue?

Lesson 23. Rumor Has It

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Grammar Chunk 10

Indirect Questions

More details: Indirect Question | What Is an Indirect Question? (grammar-monster.com)

An indirect question is a question embedded inside a statement (i.e., a declarative sentence) or another question(i.e., an interrogative sentence).

Indirect questions are classified as noun clauses. (Anoun clause is a multi-word noun that features asubject and a verb.)

• An indirect question does not warrant a question mark.Only a direct question does.• Bear in mind that "if" and "whether" are not alwaysinterchangeable. "If" heads a condition. "Whether" doesn't.• The word order of an indirect question is the same wordorder as a statement (subject-verb) not a question (verb-subject).

noun clause

Key Points:

Lesson 23. Rumor Has It

Application 11

Use the indirect questions to get some gossips about the following people or industries.

Lesson 23. Rumor Has It

What do you want to know Why do you want to know?

your or a close friend’s ex

local star

international singer

technology

medicine

national government

an Asian country

a western country

others…

Speaking Drill 12

Express Yourself1. What and who are the most common subjects of gossip in your country?2. What is your opinion of gossip columnists writing and deliberately spreading rumors aboutcelebrities?3. How do people should react when they found out that there are rumors about them?4. If you discovered that someone had been gossiping about you, would you confront them?5. Eleanor Roosevelt said: “Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; smallminds discuss people.” Do you agree?6. At what age or stage in life do most people love gossips and rumors?7. Why is it considered that women gossip more then men?8. When women gossip, what do they usually talk about? When men gossip, what do theyusually talk about?9. If you heard some harmful gossip about someone you knew, what would you do?10. How would you try to resolve the problem, if you had got into trouble through gossiping?

Lesson 23. Rumor Has It

Pronunciation Exercise 13

Consonant Blends

When the second letter in a two-letter consonant blend is an R, it’s called an r-blend.

Two-Letter R-Blend

br cr dr fr gr pr tr

brainbreakbroom

crashcreatecrush

drawdrinkdry

freefriendfrown

graspgreatgrow

prankpriceprose

tracktrimtrue

A consonant blend is made up of consonants found next to each other in a word where you say the sound each makes as you pronounce the word.

Supply at least 5 more examples for each R-Blend sound.

Lesson 23. Rumor Has It

The End

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